By Nick Dixon
The 3 biggest mistakes parents make when they buy a new baseball bat are: 1) Buying a Bat that is Not Appropriate, 2) Buying a Bat with the Wrong Intentions, and 3) Buying a Bat That is Illegal. I will now explain each of these mistakes. I will now offer explanations of how these mistakes are made. And I will tell how each of these mistakes can be prevented.
1. Buying a bat that is not appropriate. - Many parents buy a bat without having the player touch or hold the bat. The bat is purchased is not the correct size for the player. The bat is purchased and later the parents and player realize that the bat is too heavy or too light, or the bat is too long or too short for the player. The best way to determine the perfect bat weight and length is to try a friends bat during batting practice.
If the player can swing the bat and generate obvious bat speed, then the bat is the right size. Many people judge bat speed by simply listening for the amount of "bat wind" generated by the batters swing. If the swing is too slow, very little wind noise will be generated. There is also a universal test called the "horizontal lift & hold test" that players should perform before a bat is purchased. The player holds the bat by the handle near the knob and lifts and extends his arm straight outward at shoulder height. The batter should be able to hold the bat steady for at least 30 seconds. If the batter struggles to hold the bat steady, the bat is either too long or too heavy. The lighter weight or length bat should be considered if the player fails this test.
2. Buying a bat with the wrong intentions. - Many people buy a bat that is sized for the tea and not their child. This is a bad mistake. The parent should make sure that the bat purchased is perfect for the player. There are few teams than can purchase a "team" bat without several players being handicapped with the purchase being the wrong side for them.
Another common mistake is that Dad buys a heavier or longer bat than needed because he wants to make the $300 spent on the purchase last the player for more than one season. This is a terrible mistake. It is true that your child is going to grow. But, trying to buy a bat for future growing is the quickest way I know to put your child at a distinct disadvantage right now. Buy the perfect weight and size for your child today. If he or she outgrows the bat before next season, be proud. Sell the old bat to a friend and buy a new one new year.
3. Buying a bat that is illegal - You league has rules that pertain to specific bat materials, construction, weight, and lengths. Make sure that you know what barrel sizes, what materials, and what "bat drop" rules are applied in your league play. The drop of the bat is the difference between the length of the bat minus the weight of the bat. For example, if a bat is a 32" long bat and it weighs 29 ounces, then the bat drop for the bat is -3.
The drop of the bat varies in baseball, depending on the level of play. Little League, at this time, has no regulations for restricting drop weight. High school baseball has a drop weight zone regulation of no lighter than -3. College baseball has a drop zone regulation of no lighter than -3. I hope that you enjoyed reading this article and found it to be informative. I really appreciate you taking the time to read it. Good Luck in the coming season! Have a great day, Nick.
The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of 1400 Baseball Products. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.
Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
How to Analyze a Baseball Swing
By Jack Perconte
Many people who have a basic knowledge of baseball can look at an inexperienced hitter and figure out what they are doing wrong. Certain things like stepping out, over-striding, swinging early or late, upper cutting, pulling off the ball and taking their eye off the ball are fairly obvious flaws. The solutions to these problems are not as obvious, and certainly not as simple as just telling the hitter what they are doing wrong. Muscle memory can be very tough to change and it is important for hitters and adults to have patience with players who are trying to make changes to their muscle memory. However, I am getting ahead of myself. The swing cannot be fixed until it has been analyzed correctly. Analyzing a swing when the flaws are not as obvious takes a much more experienced coach.
Following are pointers for coaches who are not as experienced to know what to look for when analyzing a baseball swing:
1. The best angle to watch a hitter is the side angle, as from the on deck circle.
2. The main thing to watch from this angle is the path of the bat barrel.
3. The ideal is when the bat barrel settles above the hitter's rear shoulder with the knob of the bat pointing down just as the front foot lands with the stride. A slight tilt of the bat barrel where it settles anywhere between 11 and 1 o'clock is best.
4. From this settled position, the ideal is to see the hands and barrel begin on a downward path towards the ball, while never traveling too far from the hitters head on the path to the ball. This is known as a compact swing.
5. The swing is begun by a break of the back knee allowing the hips to open, and with a pull of the lead hand.
6. The bat barrel starts on a downward path but will begin to level off quite quickly, especially on the lower pitches. As the back knee rotates towards the ball, the back elbow lowers and remains very close to the body on the initial portion of the swing. This prevents the hands from casting away from the body, another common flaw of young hitters.
7. This leveling off is accomplished by the hands forming a palm-up (top hand) and palm-down (lower hand) position before and after contact. The hands will end at about the same level they began the swing, at shoulder level height.
8. After leveling off, good hitters will keep the bat mostly level for an extended period until well after contact when it will begin an upward path till finishing behind the back.
9. As the bat barrel comes through, the hitter's hips have completely opened with the belly button facing the pitcher.
10. The area between the legs should form a capital A at contact, with the hitters head located above the rear hip.
11. The rear foot has pivoted towards the pitcher as the weight has shifted from the rear leg towards the front foot, and the hitter will finish up on his back toe.
12. All of this is ideally done with the hitters head and eyes tracking the ball all the way till contact.
Often, it takes a great deal of observation of the baseball swing to pick up on these little intricacies of the swing. These actions of the swing happen very quickly. Picturing an airplane landing is a good mind illustration that describes the bat barrel swing path. As mentioned, paying close attention to the path of the bat barrel is the key to analyzing the swing. Watching video of good hitters, especially in slow motion, can be very helpful in learning to analyze the baseball swing. Good swings involve excellent balance, even though there is an explosive opening of the hips and an aggressive "throw" of the hands. In all my years of teaching hitting, I found that if I could correct the hitter's bat path, the rest of their problems began to disappear or were much easier to correct.
After watching a hitter from the side angle, it is beneficial to analyze the swing from the angle of the pitcher or directly behind the hitter. From these angles it is easier to notice the hitter's front side, mainly the stride direction and front shoulder. It is important that the hitters stride is towards the pitcher and that their front shoulder stays pointed at the ball until the swing begins; when the front shoulder will start its rotation open.
Obviously, there is a great deal to the swing, as this just covers the basics. I guess it explains why I needed 200 pages to discuss all the aspects of hitting and "teaching hitting" in my book.
Former major league baseball player, Jack Perconte gives baseball hitting tips and batting practice advice for ballplayers of all ages. His baseball hitting lessons, books and advice can be found at http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball. Jack is the author of two books, The Making of a Hitter and Raising an Athlete - his parenting blog and books can be found at http://positiveparentinginsports.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_Perconte
Many people who have a basic knowledge of baseball can look at an inexperienced hitter and figure out what they are doing wrong. Certain things like stepping out, over-striding, swinging early or late, upper cutting, pulling off the ball and taking their eye off the ball are fairly obvious flaws. The solutions to these problems are not as obvious, and certainly not as simple as just telling the hitter what they are doing wrong. Muscle memory can be very tough to change and it is important for hitters and adults to have patience with players who are trying to make changes to their muscle memory. However, I am getting ahead of myself. The swing cannot be fixed until it has been analyzed correctly. Analyzing a swing when the flaws are not as obvious takes a much more experienced coach.
Following are pointers for coaches who are not as experienced to know what to look for when analyzing a baseball swing:
1. The best angle to watch a hitter is the side angle, as from the on deck circle.
2. The main thing to watch from this angle is the path of the bat barrel.
3. The ideal is when the bat barrel settles above the hitter's rear shoulder with the knob of the bat pointing down just as the front foot lands with the stride. A slight tilt of the bat barrel where it settles anywhere between 11 and 1 o'clock is best.
4. From this settled position, the ideal is to see the hands and barrel begin on a downward path towards the ball, while never traveling too far from the hitters head on the path to the ball. This is known as a compact swing.
5. The swing is begun by a break of the back knee allowing the hips to open, and with a pull of the lead hand.
6. The bat barrel starts on a downward path but will begin to level off quite quickly, especially on the lower pitches. As the back knee rotates towards the ball, the back elbow lowers and remains very close to the body on the initial portion of the swing. This prevents the hands from casting away from the body, another common flaw of young hitters.
7. This leveling off is accomplished by the hands forming a palm-up (top hand) and palm-down (lower hand) position before and after contact. The hands will end at about the same level they began the swing, at shoulder level height.
8. After leveling off, good hitters will keep the bat mostly level for an extended period until well after contact when it will begin an upward path till finishing behind the back.
9. As the bat barrel comes through, the hitter's hips have completely opened with the belly button facing the pitcher.
10. The area between the legs should form a capital A at contact, with the hitters head located above the rear hip.
11. The rear foot has pivoted towards the pitcher as the weight has shifted from the rear leg towards the front foot, and the hitter will finish up on his back toe.
12. All of this is ideally done with the hitters head and eyes tracking the ball all the way till contact.
Often, it takes a great deal of observation of the baseball swing to pick up on these little intricacies of the swing. These actions of the swing happen very quickly. Picturing an airplane landing is a good mind illustration that describes the bat barrel swing path. As mentioned, paying close attention to the path of the bat barrel is the key to analyzing the swing. Watching video of good hitters, especially in slow motion, can be very helpful in learning to analyze the baseball swing. Good swings involve excellent balance, even though there is an explosive opening of the hips and an aggressive "throw" of the hands. In all my years of teaching hitting, I found that if I could correct the hitter's bat path, the rest of their problems began to disappear or were much easier to correct.
After watching a hitter from the side angle, it is beneficial to analyze the swing from the angle of the pitcher or directly behind the hitter. From these angles it is easier to notice the hitter's front side, mainly the stride direction and front shoulder. It is important that the hitters stride is towards the pitcher and that their front shoulder stays pointed at the ball until the swing begins; when the front shoulder will start its rotation open.
Obviously, there is a great deal to the swing, as this just covers the basics. I guess it explains why I needed 200 pages to discuss all the aspects of hitting and "teaching hitting" in my book.
Former major league baseball player, Jack Perconte gives baseball hitting tips and batting practice advice for ballplayers of all ages. His baseball hitting lessons, books and advice can be found at http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball. Jack is the author of two books, The Making of a Hitter and Raising an Athlete - his parenting blog and books can be found at http://positiveparentinginsports.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_Perconte
Thursday, December 31, 2009
3 Strength Building Drills to Make Your Baseball Bat the Most Powerful in Your Baseball League
By Nick Dixon
These 3 batting drills should be a part of every serious baseball players daily batting practice routine. These hitting drills are well known and recognized for increasing bat speed and power. These drills should be done regularly during the off season.
Batting Drill #1 - Top Hand Drill
Purpose: To increase the coordination and skill of the top hand on the bat. The top hand is the hand that guides and controls the bat. Building strength in the top hand can make it take a stronger role in the swing thus, improving bat accuracy and bat speed.
Procedure: You can do this drill with tossed balls, a hitting stick device or a batting machine. The most common way to do this drill is to have the player assume a position with the back knee down and the front leg extended. This body position makes the batter use only the forearm and arm to control the bat. The batting aid or target should be held above the head of the batter. The batter should be instructed to take the barrel above the ball and hit the top of the ball to drive the ball unit downward.
Reps: It is recommended that a better do at least 30 to 45 top hand reps a day divided into 3 sets.
Coaching Point - The heavier the bat is the better. These are strength building exercises. We want to limit the number of reps to less than 50 three times a week. We do not want to do these during the season. We would only do these until 2 weeks before the season begins. You should also incorporate some quick hands or speed hands workouts into your daily routine as well.
Batting Drill #2 - Power Hand Drill
Purpose: To increase the muscle strength and power of the bottom hand on the bat. The bottom hand is the hand that generated bat speed and power. Building strength in the bottom hand can make it stronger and increase bat speed and power.
Procedure: You can do this drill with tossed balls, a hitting stick device or a batting machine. The most common way to do this drill is to have the player assume his normal stance. The batter should have his feet shoulder width apart. The batter will turn the hips and pivot on the back foot to do each swing. Special emphasis should be given the batter to grip the bat near the knob.
The batting aid or target should be held above the belly button of the batter. The batter should be instructed to take the barrel and drive the barrel through the ball. The bat should be moving parallel to the ground.
Reps: It is recommended that a better do at least 30 to 45 top hand reps a day divided 3 sets.
Coaching Point - The heavier the bat is the better. The batter must keep the bat higher enough to be parallel to the ground or higher. The movement of the bat should never be downward. Therefore the target to hit must be kept high. The reason for this is that the batter can not be aided by gravity if the bat moves parallel to the ground and level. Any downward movement by the bat reduces the work of the muscles and reduces the effectiveness of the drill.
Batting Drill #3 - Bat Power Resistance Drill
Purpose: Use strength building resistance exercises to increase the strength and power of the muscles in the hands, forearms, and shoulders that are vital in generating bat speed and power. The stronger these muscles are the more bat speed and power the batter will be able to generate.
Procedure: This weight resistance exercise requires a stationary object like a pole, corner of a wall, or tree to give resistance to the bat during this exercise. The bat will not move. The batter will do these 3 exercises.
Exercise - Knob Drive Resistance Weight Exercise
The batter when flex the muscles of the forearms. The batter will put place the knob against the resisting object. The batter will flex the muscles 10 times at two locations. The two locations are:
Pressing downward
Pressing toward the pitcher
Exercise - Bat Barrel Resistance Weight Exercise
The batter when flex the muscles of the hands, fingers, forearms and biceps. The batter will put place the bat barrel against the resisting object. The batter will flex the muscles 10 times at two locations. The two locations are:
6 Inches behind the belly button - belt high - (toward catcher)
6 Inches in front of the belly button - belt high - (toward pitcher)
12 Inches in front of the belly button - belt high - (toward pitcher)
Coaching Point - Each exercise is done with the batter keeping the barrel level, belt high, and pressing toward the pitcher.
The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of 1400 Baseball Products. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.
Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for Baseball Coaching Digest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon
These 3 batting drills should be a part of every serious baseball players daily batting practice routine. These hitting drills are well known and recognized for increasing bat speed and power. These drills should be done regularly during the off season.
Batting Drill #1 - Top Hand Drill
Purpose: To increase the coordination and skill of the top hand on the bat. The top hand is the hand that guides and controls the bat. Building strength in the top hand can make it take a stronger role in the swing thus, improving bat accuracy and bat speed.
Procedure: You can do this drill with tossed balls, a hitting stick device or a batting machine. The most common way to do this drill is to have the player assume a position with the back knee down and the front leg extended. This body position makes the batter use only the forearm and arm to control the bat. The batting aid or target should be held above the head of the batter. The batter should be instructed to take the barrel above the ball and hit the top of the ball to drive the ball unit downward.
Reps: It is recommended that a better do at least 30 to 45 top hand reps a day divided into 3 sets.
Coaching Point - The heavier the bat is the better. These are strength building exercises. We want to limit the number of reps to less than 50 three times a week. We do not want to do these during the season. We would only do these until 2 weeks before the season begins. You should also incorporate some quick hands or speed hands workouts into your daily routine as well.
Batting Drill #2 - Power Hand Drill
Purpose: To increase the muscle strength and power of the bottom hand on the bat. The bottom hand is the hand that generated bat speed and power. Building strength in the bottom hand can make it stronger and increase bat speed and power.
Procedure: You can do this drill with tossed balls, a hitting stick device or a batting machine. The most common way to do this drill is to have the player assume his normal stance. The batter should have his feet shoulder width apart. The batter will turn the hips and pivot on the back foot to do each swing. Special emphasis should be given the batter to grip the bat near the knob.
The batting aid or target should be held above the belly button of the batter. The batter should be instructed to take the barrel and drive the barrel through the ball. The bat should be moving parallel to the ground.
Reps: It is recommended that a better do at least 30 to 45 top hand reps a day divided 3 sets.
Coaching Point - The heavier the bat is the better. The batter must keep the bat higher enough to be parallel to the ground or higher. The movement of the bat should never be downward. Therefore the target to hit must be kept high. The reason for this is that the batter can not be aided by gravity if the bat moves parallel to the ground and level. Any downward movement by the bat reduces the work of the muscles and reduces the effectiveness of the drill.
Batting Drill #3 - Bat Power Resistance Drill
Purpose: Use strength building resistance exercises to increase the strength and power of the muscles in the hands, forearms, and shoulders that are vital in generating bat speed and power. The stronger these muscles are the more bat speed and power the batter will be able to generate.
Procedure: This weight resistance exercise requires a stationary object like a pole, corner of a wall, or tree to give resistance to the bat during this exercise. The bat will not move. The batter will do these 3 exercises.
Exercise - Knob Drive Resistance Weight Exercise
The batter when flex the muscles of the forearms. The batter will put place the knob against the resisting object. The batter will flex the muscles 10 times at two locations. The two locations are:
Pressing downward
Pressing toward the pitcher
Exercise - Bat Barrel Resistance Weight Exercise
The batter when flex the muscles of the hands, fingers, forearms and biceps. The batter will put place the bat barrel against the resisting object. The batter will flex the muscles 10 times at two locations. The two locations are:
6 Inches behind the belly button - belt high - (toward catcher)
6 Inches in front of the belly button - belt high - (toward pitcher)
12 Inches in front of the belly button - belt high - (toward pitcher)
Coaching Point - Each exercise is done with the batter keeping the barrel level, belt high, and pressing toward the pitcher.
The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of 1400 Baseball Products. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.
Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for Baseball Coaching Digest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
College Division 1 Baseball - 3 Steps to Playing Baseball at the Highest Level
By Gary V Hawkins
If you are a high school baseball player and you are trying to get recruited to play college division 1 baseball, this article can help you reach your goal. This article will give you three powerful steps that can take immediately that will set you apart from your competition.
Step 1 - Develop Your Athletic Resume
First of all, you need to develop a great athletic resume. Your resume has to do the same thing a resume does when you are looking for a job. It has to generate more interest in you from the coaches and cause them to want to learn more about you.
In order to get the interest of college division 1 baseball coaches, your resume should all key contact information for you and for your current coaches. It should describe your key strengths and abilities. Additionally, it should give all your key stats and physical measurements (height, weight, etc.)
Step 2- Develop You List Of Potential Schools
The next step to playing college division 1 baseball is to make a list of the school you want to play for. This list should be realistic and the schools on the list should match your skills and abilities. Not everyone can play at the elite schools, but there are still plenty of other division 1 schools out there who need talented baseball players.
Your list should be at least 50 schools. A list of 100 schools will give you an even better shot at playing in college. The longer your list of schools, the better your chances will be.
Step 3- Start Making Contact With Coaches
Some people will tell you that if you are good enough to play at the next level, especially college division 1 baseball, the schools will find you. There is some truth in that statement, however, there are many high school baseball players who fly under the radar of college coaches each and every year. If you are reading this article, you just may be one of those athletes.
Contact coaches on your list by sending them your athletic resume along with a personal letter. If you have the talent and skills (baseball and athletic) to potentially play in their program, they will be glad to hear from you. Make sure you have some video available for them if they contact you back and ask for it.
Summary
Playing college division 1 football can be a reachable dream for you. Follow the three steps I have outlined in this article and you can be miles ahead of the other kids you are competing against for a scholarship....because most of them (99%) will never make contact on their own with a college coach.
"Learn more about how to get on the path to playing baseball in college, download our Free Report: Five Secrets You Must Know To Get Recruited For Athletic Scholarships.
Get your free report at: http://www.recruitedforscholarships.com/freereport.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_V_Hawkins
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The Coaches Best Baseball Store has a great selection of 1400 Baseball Products. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.
Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Happy Holidays & Season’s Greetings From Nick
Happy Holidays & Season’s Greetings From Nick
Thank you for being a regular reader of our blog. We are taking some time off for the Holidays. Our post schedule is normally 5 to 6 daily articles posted per week. During the Holidays and until Jan. 4, 2010, or post will not be daily because of Holiday activities. If you are looking for great coaching articles, please consider one of our sites: The BaseballCoachingDigest.com, the YouthBaseballDigest.com or the BaseballParentGuide.com. Have a safe and happy season! Nick Dixon
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Baseball Coaching Digest - Today's Post
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Also:
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Blogger (Blogspot) - baseballcoachesdigest
Blogger (Blogspot) - baseballparentguide
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Blogger (Blogspot) - teeballcoachingclinic
Blogger (Blogspot) - hurricanebaseballtrainingmachine
Blogger (Blogspot) - teeballparentsguide
Blogger (Blogspot) - youthbaseballcoachingclinic
Shop CoachesBest.com for your baseball coaching needs including baseball training aids, training videos, and other coaching supplies. Check out the Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting machine by SKLZ at HurricaneTrainer.com.
See the “Original” Rotational Hitting Machine at BatAction.com. Are you looking for the perfect trainer to teach proper timing and swing mechanics? You can stop looking and go to HandsBackHitter.com.
Thank you for being a regular reader of our blog. We are taking some time off for the Holidays. Our post schedule is normally 5 to 6 daily articles posted per week. During the Holidays and until Jan. 4, 2010, or post will not be daily because of Holiday activities. If you are looking for great coaching articles, please consider one of our sites: The BaseballCoachingDigest.com, the YouthBaseballDigest.com or the BaseballParentGuide.com. Have a safe and happy season! Nick Dixon
Baseball Coaching Digest
Baseball Coaching Digest - Today's Post
Baseball Coaching Digest: Daily Post Archive
New Articles for Coaches
Baseball Coaching Articles by Coach Nick Dixon
New Baseball Blogs
Videos for Baseball Coaches
YouthBaseballDigest.com
Homepage
Today's Youth Baseball Coaching Feature Article
Videos for Coaches
Blogs & Knols for Baseball Coaches, Players & Parents
BaseballParentGuide.com
Homepage
Baseball Parent Guide: Today's Post
Baseball Articles for Coaches
Baseball Blogs
Teaching Your Child to Hit
Throwing and Pitching Fundamentals
Buying Guide For Baseball Parents
Current Topics and Issues Related to Safety in Baseball
Also:
Check out our network of baseball blogs:
Blogger (Blogspot) - baseballcoachesdigest
Blogger (Blogspot) - baseballparentguide
Blogger (Blogspot) - baseballhomeworkhelp
Blogger (Blogspot) - batactionbaseballtraining
Blogger (Blogspot) - battingcagebuyingguide
Blogger (Blogspot) - coachesbest
Blogger (Blogspot) - teeballcoachingclinic
Blogger (Blogspot) - hurricanebaseballtrainingmachine
Blogger (Blogspot) - teeballparentsguide
Blogger (Blogspot) - youthbaseballcoachingclinic
Shop CoachesBest.com for your baseball coaching needs including baseball training aids, training videos, and other coaching supplies. Check out the Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting machine by SKLZ at HurricaneTrainer.com.
See the “Original” Rotational Hitting Machine at BatAction.com. Are you looking for the perfect trainer to teach proper timing and swing mechanics? You can stop looking and go to HandsBackHitter.com.
Friday, December 18, 2009
How Would You Like to Run a Fun, Effective Youth Baseball Practice?
www.HurricaneMachine.com
By Chip Lemin
Practices in any sport can be boring and unproductive if not planned out ahead of time. Having a clip board with your practice itinerary written out is just a good solid idea.You can keep track of your time slots for certain drills,and keeping these on file, you will know what you have covered.
Keep your practices to 90 minutes when possible. I realize that early pre season practices will likely go over due to weather wiping out some valuable time early on.
Break up the practices with a couple of water breaks, so that you add some instruction as a group.Water breaks are not free-for-alls, they are for listening. Go over what you have been doing so far,and what you going to do next.
KEEP PRACTICE MOVING ALONG!
Practices can be broken up into different stations.A station is a group of players and 1 or 2 coaches.The term station refers to whatever skill is being worked on at that "station".
Typically you will divide your players and coaches up to best suit the drills you are doing.For example, take 3 catchers and run a blocking drill for 15 minutes.Then take your catchers to home plate and along with 3 middle infielders,conduct a throwing and tagging station.You can also work on back ups at 2nd base,along with pitch out drills for catchers . GET PARENTS INVOLVED!
Obviously you will need help to run these stations. That is why in the parental letter at tryouts or sign ups, you must be clear in asking for help. The parents or relatives do not have to have coaching experience,although it is helpful.
This one good way to get parents to see how much work you put in to the team.Please make it clear who your assistant coaches are right away. NAME them in your letter if possible.Just because someone helps with practice doesn't mean they are now on the staff.
I know some of this seems obvious,but believe me,it must be spelled out to avoid confusion.You will be training the parents as well on how to help with the drills,and they just might work with the player at home also.
A GOOD PRACTICE SHOULD SEEM TO BE OVER QUICK!
My nightmare practice scenario is this.A coach is trying to throw batting practice to 1 batter at a time.The coach can't get it over the plate.There is no on deck batter to quickly help pick up balls at the backstop.The rest of the players and coaches are standing in the field looking very bored.
This is a very common practice,and 1 reason that kids don't like baseball practice. It's too boring. Well I'm here to help you take charge of your team with an energizing practice.
Use your creativity and come up with some different stations.Or just use some old stand byes. Hitting stations,throwing stations,catching stations,fielding stations,or pitching stations.
Rotate your coaches and volunteers to different stations each practice to give them another station to learn. Keep track of which person worked what station so you can them experience at all of stations.
KEEP THEM MOVING!
HITTING STATION
What is stressed at each hitting station is a good balanced stance, starting the swing with your bottom hand,along with a strong hip rotation,and balanced high finish or follow through.
We like to use a drill called the Towel Drill. It is simply placing a folded towel under the back elbow of each hitter.Each hitter then gets several balls soft tossed to them one at a time.Each hitter is then trained to rotate the torso to hit the ball without the towel falling out from under their elbow.They quickly catch on after a couple practices.This is a good drill and inexpensive.
Another drill is balanced beam drill.Using a 60 inch 4x4 flat on the ground,have the players hit a ball off of a tee or soft toss to them to see whether their swing is balanced.It will also show you if they are stepping out of the batters box.
I use soft toss all season long.Try a purchase a hitting net to set up wherever you go during the season.Using soft toss you can look at the player's swings to see whether they are swinging correctly. All of the other hitting stations work a different part of the swing.Soft toss is where you can see the progress of the stations.
REPETITION, REPETITION REPETITION
Baseball skills are learned with repetition.We must guard against boredom however by keeping station times to 15 minutes. Have players hustle from station to station. While others run the stations, the manager can go from station to station and observe players while heaping praise on them.Stop at a station and interject if needed.
Take a water break after all players have cycled through stations, and go over the fundamentals of the drills again.Also preview what they are going to do next,and praise their efforts on previous drills.Have a coach actually demonstrate the drills coming and what expect.Take questions from players if needed, but don't get off topic.90 minutes goes by fast.
Be sure to praise players who are doing drills correctly for their skill level.Remember not all players have the same skill levels, but all players need consistent praise and encouragement.
90 minute practices do not include 15 minute prepractice meeting and warm up time. Please have parents bring kids 15 minutes early, or if you are really on the ball, just schedule practice time 15 minutes earlier.
WARNING :COACHES MUST BE EARLY TO GAMES AND PRACTICE!
Parents will not get players to games and practice early if they see coaches and manager getting there late.Set an example right away!
My son had a coach who would always be there when we arrived and we were usually 30 min early for practice and 1 hour early for the game.We only arrived before him twice,and that was because we left even earlier than normal.There were no issues on that team about latecomers.
Getting to games early also helps to get good dugout sides if they are not marked.You can look at field conditions during uncertain weather.You can do some work on fields if needed or permitted.If it was a difficult place to find, you can communicate that to others by phone so they aren't late.It shows other team that you mean business,it may give you a slight psychological edge.
PRACTICE EXAMPLE
Practice is set for 12 noon
1150 or earlier - you arrive to get make sure everything is set, bases,pitching rubber,equipment, etc...
1145- players arrive hopefully, put them in parallel lines 20-35 ft. apart depending on age group. Have begin warming up using proper mechanics. Any overthrows are to be picked and run back into the line. This prevents more overthrows from further away.
12 noon Call practice to order. Go over what stations are being set up and which adults are running them.Divide players up as equally as possible,splitting up buddies,and or siblings.
If this is 1st practice using stations,please demo for kids what you want at each station.
Station 1 A drill called Fly
Players line up single file, coach throws a football pass type throw over the shoulder of player on the run to make the catch.Run the ball back to the coach on the outside of the line so there are no collisions between players. do this for 10 min.
Station 2 Fly ball drill with tennis balls
Using a tennis racket, hit fly balls to a single file line of players, one at time. Players must use 2 hands with tennis balls or they will have hard time catching them. do this for 10 min.
Station 3 5gal bucket drill
Set up a 5gal bucket at home plate or anywhere else you want.Put players in a single file line, throw them a grounder or fly ball, using proper throwing techniques, attempt to throw baseball into the bucket. Put bucket at least 100' away depending on age group of course. Do this for 10 min.
Station 4 Cut off man drill
Have the players rotate as cut off man,throw or hit ball past the outfielder,have them chase,then pick up ball,using good throwing form, hit the cut off man.Rotate after each throw. 10 min.
1245pm
Have a water break,go over how drills went.Kid around with players a little and be very positive. Highlight all the good things you saw first, then maybe touch on what needs work. Above all,stay positive,and fun.
1250pm
Divide into 2 groups 1 at 3rd,another at 1st. Single file lines Have players field some grounders and pop ups, throwing to coaches or catchers 15-20ft up each baseline. 10 min.
1pm
Put players into regular positions or close to it.Bring in 2-3 players to hit. Machine or coach pitch.Give each player 7 swings, then rotate to next batter. Each player hits 2 times, then goes out and shags balls. After hitting for 2nd time,call in another player. Always have 1-2 players ready to hit,and have everyone ready to hustle in and pick up balls between hitters.
125pm
Call team together, go over things,and announce next practice or game time.Thank everyone for being prompt,especially the parents.
BE CREATIVE BE FUN BE POSITIVE
There are many other ways to run a practice, I have given you a basic format that you can modify anyway you see fit.Just don't fall into a rut of doing the same things over and over. Variety is the spice of life and same is true for baseball.
Sometimes you will have entire practices on fielding or hitting. Schedule as many practices as the team's families will tolerate before the season starts.Once the season starts, have team arrive 1 hour before game time for some hitting and fielding workouts.
CONCLUSION
Practice will make your team better.Well run productive practices will do even more. When you run challenging varied workouts players will develop their skills quicker. Always encourage working hard on their games.Most important is be positive,and be fun.
Chip Lemin has been a promoter of youth baseball since they started using aluminum bats. That's a long time. I have witnessed many good people get into coaching without solid coaching skills and it is not fun for them or the kids.Today's newer coaches are also being shortchanged on sportsmanship, like there is none. Visit my site to sign up for a insightful, informational, free coaching e-course at http://www.baseballecourse.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chip_Lemin
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Thursday, December 17, 2009
Hitting Did You Knows
www.HandsBackHitter.com
By Todd Thomas
Did you know...
...a baseball and/or softball bat is one of the few retail products of significant value that comes with no directions on how to use it?
...hitting is at the very least 50% from the neck up and very few hitters are taught the mental side of the hitting equation?
...most hitters and coaches will say on average that a player's mental game of confidence, focus, and composure make up 80% of how they perform in game situations over and above their mechanics. Yet, those same people will readily admit that they spend 2% or less of their time practicing their mental game while practicing 98% on the other 20% of the game. Hmmm???
...there are only TWO hitting techniques? A hitter either comes forward or stays back. If he weight-shifts forward (continuously moves his vertical plane forward out over the top of the front foot)as he swings, the hitter is linear. Rotational hitters also weight-shift, but once they reach the balance point in their stride, they rotate around a stationary axis as they swing. Simply put, hitters that "stay back" are rotational. A hitter CANNOT stay back and be considered linear.
...good hitting mechanics incorporate BOTH linear and rotational movements? A "hybrid" swing is nothing new. Good swings have always been "hybrid".
...that despite all the talk of what "linear" hitting is and what linear hitting isn't, it barely resembles what it was 25 years ago?
...there is no such thing as the one "perfect swing?" The perfect swing is the adjustments a hitter makes to the pitch each different pitch they see. As a result, the "perfect swing" constantly changes!
...that parents and too often even coaches are confusing young hitters by telling them when they are in the batter's box to get their elbow up or down? Having the elbow "up" or "down" is a "style" issue—NOT a mechanics issue?
...the major league average bat speed is 78 mph?
...that bat "speed" and bat "quickness are two distinctly different things?" Bat speed measures bat velocity or the actual speed of the bat; bat quickness measures the time lapse from launch-to-contact. If a hitter has good bat quickness (major league average is .16 seconds), they will have high bat velocity. However, a hitter can have high bat velocity and NOT have good bat quickness. Good bat quickness is a product of good torque in the swing.
...to get the "same" performance/production from a wood bat that hitters get from aluminum, the wood bat should be two inches longer and two ounces heavier?
...there is no "proper" batting stance? It's different for each hitter and is a product of the hitter's "style"—not his technique.
..."no stride" hitting can make it easier for a hitter to focus on the pitch better because of less body/head movement?
...that Rogers Hornsby when asked what he did during the winter when there wasn't baseball said..."I stare out the window and wait for spring." Don't we all!
Now you know...if you didn't already.
Todd Thomas is a Baseball Coach and Professional Hitting Instructor for Mike Epstein Hitting. Coach Todd's personal hitting website is http://www.HitItHere.net . Coach Todd also enthusiastically endorses http://PlayMyBestBaseball.com as a place where baseball and softball hitters can master the Confidence, Composure, Focus and Consistency of their game so they can reach their full potential.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Todd_Thomas
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